Bollywood's Highest Paid Actors: Recent reports about actor Ranbir Kapoor hinted that the actor charged Rs.20 crores for his film Besharam. A whopping amount, but not surprising as the Kapoor boy has got himself into the top league of actors with back-to-back hits like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Barfi!. However, there are actors who command a higher price as they bring along star power and experience. According to industry insiders, actors like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn get an approximate of Rs.30-40 crore per film, plus a considerable share in the profits. Having said that, it all depends from film to film.

Evidently, the star economics has seen a sea change since the time superstars like Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra ruled the roost. “Actors made good money even then, except that it wasn’t in the limelight as they received money in cash. Now everything is in white. Besides, earlier there were no multiplexes or 3000 screens. Since films now do a business of Rs.100 crore and Rs. 200 crore, actors have got greedy and are asking a lot of money as a film runs on the hero’s name. However, there are just seven-eight actors getting paid that much, and it includes the three Khans, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Ranbir Kapoor,” explains trade expert Amod Mehra. So, these are the top names that come into picture when we talk about the highest paid actors. According to Mehra, Akshay is the highest paid actor with Rs.45 crore as fixed remuneration. Other actors make up for their fees with their share in profits, so one can’t really be sure and say who tops the list.

As far as actresses are concerned, Hema Malini was the highest paid actress in her hey days. She commanded the same price as male stars of her time. Now the top actresses get an approximate of Rs. 2-3 crores per film, with exceptions being Kareena Kapoor, who’s said to have recieved Rs. 8 crore for Heroine, Priyanka Chopra also reportedly earned Rs. 7 crore for Zanjeer, and more recently, Kangana Ranaut, who’s said to have got Rs. 7 crore for Rajjo. “Usually actresses get something in the range of two to three crores for a film but once in a while, they get more and depends on the film they are doing,” says trade